Hello

Thanks, Boo.

I would like to try food making. I'll need to find recipes for ice creams because I've never made them before. I think it's really cool that you make ice creams.

Thanks for the info, Aidie. I like the sound of mantra meditation and I've heard of mindfulness before. Candle staring also sounds interesting. Does Zen meditation have any relation to Zen Buddhism? I studied Zen Buddhism briefly at university as part of my Buddhist Philosophy module.

It's cool that you used to play a fife. I think I'll need to start learning a new instrument because it's not practical for me to play drums at the moment.

Welcome Hollie!

A fun hobby you could try is food making, like making ice creams, that's something I do.

search for guided meditations in Youtube sit in a chair and follow the instructions. Try a different every day until you find one you like. Once you find one you like repeat it every day while looking for a second one to add.  I converted teh ones I liked to MP3s and played them everyday when I could on a MP3 player + headphones.

types of formal meditation to read about or search for 

1.guided 

2. Mantra  simple once u learn how to do them u can use them everywhere

3. focus - i liked candle staring --- improves concentration

4  mindfulness - mix of body scan + breath following many learners start here

5  breath following  --  Zazen ( ZEN ) is part of this group. serious meditation. I read about Zen all the time 

5b moving meditation such as walking meditation or "Mediation by doing" ( part of ZEN ) eg knitting / jogging / running / adult coloring in / jigsaws / dancing / playing music /yoga is a mix of moving/meditation

6. non-dual   --- I love these guys and I am still learning about what they are saying --- stay away until u have have experience of 1 - 5 they will blow your mind to quickly

warning  ---- dont exceed 1 hour of meditation per day or 10 hours per week without having a mentor/teacher/  -- some people over do it ! (me !)    

I used to play a fife ! small simple flute. made by Yamaha. 

Hello, thank you!

Thank you for the list of hobbies that you have helped other people with, Aidie. I think it'll be really helpful when it comes to me finding a new hobby. I'll let you know what I decide to pursue. I've been interested in meditation for some time, but struggled to find where to start with it all. Do you have any advice? Also, do you play a musical instrument?

Hi, Tinyexplorer. Not really started yet finding a new hobby because I'm in the process of moving house (very stressful). Aidie's list below looks very helpful, so I'm going to browse those and see if one suits me. I can find decisions overwhelming, so it really helps to have a limited choice sometimes. I previously played the drums but I had to sell my kit once I moved away to university, I would love to play a musical instrument again. Do you follow a deliberate approach of finding a new hobby?

Hello, welcome! 

learn a musical instrument, guitar, keyboard, fife, mouth organ, but not bag pipes unless u live far from neighbours likewise with drums !

nearly forgot Magic tricks and illusions ---  most start with card tricks 

juggling

circus stuff

skateboarding freestyle

heres some I have helped auties with

model trains ( pick a gauge )

playing chess ( serious one )

remote control aircraft and/or drones ( racing and/or fun )

model building ( eg ships models of towns, ports etc serious money in this if u want clients ) talk to a guy on here called Plastic

board games fantasy and classic ( 80% autistic - some clubs )

wire trees some with jewels ( can be a business )

carving , wood turning, lathes routers ( I am helping my autie nephew build a life size R2D2 )

Everything Titanic ! 

Cars

motorcycles

vintage car / motorcycles

jigsaws ( very calming )

adult colouring in ( very calming )

people who build model working engines ( check Youtube amzing stuff )

science ( do a course on a science subject )

Astronomy  ( join a club and see what happens )

Photography another biggee for auties ---  My nephew drives all over for a photo --- he then created a calendar which he sold ( at a loss ) but hey what a beauty.

Art ( painting ) such a big area for autistic people to express themselves especially abstract painting ( i do some in here )

Lego models designing and building 

reading of course 

quizzing in a team or solo

my hobby is now meditation ! which has improved my mental health greatly !  ..... but autistic people generally stay away :(

Hi NoLogic. Welcome. Could you tell about your effort to find a new hobby? We auties have special interests and hyper focus and it could be difficult to find attention for something new, so I am curious, do you follow a deliberate approach of finding a new hobby? 

Thanks, Ash. That's good that you've already found it useful. Same goes to you; feel free to message me if you want to chat. Hopefully see you around the forum soon

Hey welcome to the forum! I’ve only been here for a short time myself but have already found it all very useful. Feel free to get in touch if you fancy a chat about anything. Hope you enjoy posting and get all the help that you need and more.